ATLANTA — The city is clearing out an encampment where people have been sleeping under The Bell Street Bridge.
It’s near Grady Memorial Hospital.
Case workers who are helping connect those people to housing were up against the clock Friday.
They have until 5 p.m. to clear the camp out and connect people who live there to housing or shelters.
Atlanta Police Department said workers will start clearing concrete barriers Friday night. Saturday, they will finish clearing furniture and debris from the area.
The cleanup will follow new city guidelines for closing homeless encampments that were developed after the death of a homeless man during a cleanup near Old Wheat Street.
Officials say both the police and Atlanta Fire Rescue Department will be on scene during the operation. Crews will also use infrared heat-detecting cameras to ensure the area is clear and safe before the cleanup is complete.
“If they’re getting help, yes, clear it out. But, if they don’t know where they’re going to sleep tonight, they will find another spot,” said Shawn Ward.
He works for Men & Women for Human Excellence, Inc, a nonprofit that provides opioid use disorder services.
He said the Bell Street encampment is one of the fullest in the city.
People who have to walk through it to get to Grady Memorial Hospital said it’s heartbreaking and unsanitary.
“Just to see it, it just got to touch you some kind of way,” said Dani Allen.
An organization called Partners for HOME has been working for months to connect people at the camp to housing and support services.
At last county on Friday, case workers connected 11 people to services and one person to a shelter.
Atlanta police said the last encampment closure was last month at a camp at Howell Street and Memorial.
About 40 people were housed from that location.
They said spots to close are chosen based on how many people at one spot are documented ready for housing and services.
Partners for HOME sends case workers out for months, working to find out who needs licenses, addresses, Social Security cards and other documentation to help them get it. Once they have enough people ready to go, they tell police and start the closure process.
At the Bell Street Bridge location, 12 people were ready to go.
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